Chapter 9: Karen Gives A Helping Hand

Summer was Karen's favorite time of the year. She had always loved summer. When she was little she could hardly wait until it was warm enough to run through the sprinkler. She could do that for hours. Often, to her mother's embarrassment, she would take off her swimsuit and play naked under the sprinkler. As a teenager she spent almost every day at the swim club with her friends. There she would wear the smallest bikini that her mother would let her buy.

Even as a grown up she enjoyed summer. As a teacher it gave her time to spend at home with her baby and to share a more normal life with her husband, Jim. June was her favorite month, and this June was perfect, much warmer and drier than most of the ones she remembered. She would have liked to live near the lake, but for now this modest two bedroom home in Deerfield was all they could afford.

Today was almost 85 and the there was not a cloud in the sky. She had set up the lounger in her small backyard, put the playpen up in the shade for the baby, and was ready to toast unhealthily in the sun morning rays. When she had the baby she was embarrassed to wear a two piece and had bought several modest one piece suits. She thought her tummy had a little too much pouch. Jim thought she was crazy. However after the past years activities, she had become considerably more comfortable with her body. Other men had seen her and thought she was pretty. It was a great ego boost. So now today she was lying out in a very small two piece suit.

She had brought out several books to read, but as she reclined in the lounger her mind wandered and very few pages of any book were being turned. The past years events had given Karen a new vibrant personality. As she lay there, pretending to read, her mind slipped off into a world of fantasy and pleasure. She was surrounded by faceless men who were admiring her body. The warm sun had an erotic effect in her fantasy as she slipped off her bikini to the appreciation of all the men. One of the men was her husband and he was telling the others what a great lover she was. He was pointing out the features of her nude body, the small roundness of her breasts contrasting to the size and firmness of her dark nipples, the smoothness of her skin, and the trimmed hair of her cunt.

A noise caused her to start and she reluctantly opened her eyes, seeing nothing. She had become aroused by her dream and the warmth of the sun was creating a different kind of warmth between her legs. She wished the yard were a little more private. There was a fence around Mr. Fleming's yard next door, but the rest of the yard was open to the neighbors. She had become very immodest over the past year, but she didn't think all of her neighbors would approve, if she slipped out of her bikini. She closed her eyes and tried to return to her dream.

Once again the sound of scraping metal caused her eyes to open. This time when she turned, trying to locate the sound, she saw Mr. Fleming on a ladder cleaning leaves out of his gutter. Apparently he had seen Karen also, because when she turned toward his house, he waved.

"Good morning, Karen. I didn't mean to scare you. See you're enjoying the weather."

Mr. Fleming was a nice man. She always enjoyed talking with him; he was so polite. Apparently he liked looking at her in a bikini, because he didn't immediately return to working on the gutter. Karen looked good in a bikini and Mr. Fleming was showing his appreciation.

"No, you didn't scare me. I just couldn't figure out where the noise was. See you're taking advantage of the weather, too."

"I probably should have done this last fall, but when you get to my age everything takes so much energy," he shouted back. Karen tried to recall his age. Seventy-two, she thought, and he was still very active. He had told her previously that his wife had died ten years ago. He seemed to be very sad when ever he talked about her.

"Yes, I just love summer. The sun feels so good against my skin." Then with a touch of honesty, she confided, "I just wish it were a little more private."

"Well, I better finish up, before it gets too hot. Talk to you later."

With that said he returned to working on the gutter, but his mind was filled with memories of summers gone by. He had built the privacy fence years ago. It had been a present for his wife who liked to work in the flower garden nude. He had spent many summer afternoons watching her work. She was like a woodland nymph, bronzed and confident, totally in control of her environment. Occasionally he would come up behind her and make sexual overtures. She would turn around grinning and lovingly slap his hands. "Later we'll take of that." And she always would. As a gloved hand pulled leaves from the gutter, the other hand wiped a tear from his eyes.

Karen returned to her reading and daydreaming. However, she never quite got back to the fantasy of all the men around her. Instead she let her mind wander, settling on nothing of any consequence. She saw Mr. Fleming coming around the corner of the backyard fence.

"Hi Karen." She gave him a friendly smile and wave as he approached the lounger. "I was thinking about what you said. You can use my yard if you want. It's fenced." She thought she saw a hint of a blush, but wasn't certain.

"Oh, I couldn't impose on you that way. Thanks anyway."

"You wouldn't be imposing. Come on over and bring the baby. It's private and nobody can see you." He added the last as a reminder of her earlier comment about her yard not being very private.

"Are you sure?"

After a few more moments of questions and affirmations she agreed to use his yard. Gathering up the lounger and her personal belonging she followed him through the back gate. He had carried the baby with an uncomfortable look on his face. Once the gate had shut she looked around in astonishment. This was not what she had expected to find. It was as if she had walked into a fairy tale garden. There were flowering bushes along the fence and a small pond in the one corner. Early flowers were in bloom where the sun was most apparent.

"It's beautiful," she said. A smile reflected Mr. Fleming's pride. "I had no idea that you had this garden."

"Actually, it was my wife's. She spent about all her time out here when the weather was agreeable. Now it's kind of a nuisance, but I wouldn't think of not trying to keep it up." He looked around as if he was seeing it for the first time in many years. "She loved being out here." He almost added the part about her doing all the yard work nude, but instead he added, "She loved the sunshine."

"Like me."

"Yes, like you."

She got everything just right, turning the lounger so it was facing the sun and then lay down to enjoy the sun and garden. Mr. Fleming had gone in the house while she was doing this, but in a few minutes came back out with a pitcher of lemonade. "I thought you might like a cold drink. Iris always liked lemonade when she was out side. Iris was my wife," he added as way of explanation.

"I remember, you told me that the other day at the window." She blushed as she remembered Mr. Fleming catching her off guard. She also remembered what he had said about Iris working in the nude. She wondered if his wife had worked outside in the nude also. It was such a pretty garden, she could see herself working nude here. Her mind wandered until she heard Mr. Fleming ask if she would prefer to be left alone.

"No, I'm enjoying your company. Stay and talk to me."

He was such a nice man and she enjoyed listening to him as he rambled on about his job and his wife and how they had moved here 45 years ago. As she listened, he opened up. Eventually he told her about Iris working nude in the yard and how he used to love watching her. He must have talked for thirty minutes without Karen saying a word.

When he paused for a moment, Karen looked up and said, "You must have really loved her."

"Yes, she was a lot like you, a free spirit." After a moment of thought, he turned to Karen. "It's private back here. If you wanted to totally enjoy the sun, you could."

"I am enjoying the sun."

"I mean like Iris. You could enjoy the sun like Iris."

It took a few seconds for her to understand what he had suggested. "Yes. Yes, I guess I could. Would you mind?" As he again assured her it would be okay, she looked around. No one could see over the fence and it was such a pretty yard. As she looked around her hands went behind her back and unclasped the top of her bikini. She knew Mr. Fleming was watching, but she really didn't care. Soon her top was lying on the ground beside the lounger and her bottoms followed soon there after.

Yes, this is the way she wanted to enjoy the June sun. She was naked and free. She wanted to get up and run around singing, she felt so wonderful. Instead she turned to the older man and simply said, "Thanks." It was then her turn to talk. She told him about her marriage to Jim and how he encouraged being open and honest with her body. She told him about growing up and running through the sprinkler nude. She told him a lot, but she didn't tell him about the other men or her loving Beth or David. She didn't think that he would understand.

When she paused her narrative, he grinned and said that he had a sprinkler. At first she thought that he wanted to water the lawn and she was ready to get up and leave so he could do his yard work. He saw her confusion. "No, I have a sprinkler and you can run through it, if you want to. You're already dressed for it."

Why not, she thought. As he went to get the hose and sprinkler, she picked up the baby. The water started to spin. She pulled the baby close to her chest and ran towards the water. She laughed and the baby echoed her laughter. No wonder she had enjoyed this so much as a child. It was fun. She invited her neighbor to join, but he reluctantly declined the offer.

At two she gathered her things together and prepared to leave. "Thank you. Thank you for everything. We had a wonderful time. I wish I had some way to thank you"

"You can come back any time. The back gate is always open. Just watching you is thanks enough."

Karen knew what he meant, but she really wanted to do something nice for him. "Maybe I can help you clean house." She saw his eyes light up. "Yes, I can help you clean house like Iris used to do. Can I come over tomorrow?" He readily agreed. Then she hurried home to get dinner for Jim.

Jim knew she was in a good mood as they ate supper, but he had no idea why she was in such a good mood. He chalked it up to the weather and Karen's love for the season. That night she showed Jim just how good she felt by taking him to bed early. Jim went to sleep hoping that she would be in a good mood many more times this summer.

She awoke to rain the next morning. Jim had left early and she sat at the kitchen table drinking a second cup of coffee and listening to the traditional June rain falling outside the window. She had been hoping for a sunny day, but since she was going to clean Mr. Fleming's house, it really didn't matter a whole lot. At ten she gathered her cleaning supplies together, not knowing what he would have to use, slipped on a terry short set, grabbed the baby and headed next door.